Bioterrorism: What is it? What Can Be Done to Prepare?

What is Bioterrorism? Bioterrorism is the intentional use of harmful biological agents to cause widespread illness, fear, panic, or death. The agents of most concern are anthrax, plague, smallpox, tularemia, ebola, and botulism – all hard to detect and potentially life-threatening. Background Although weapons of mass destruction and bioterrorism were presented at conferences and talked about in the hallways prior to the anthrax events of 2001, business continuity planners rarely included them in the planning process. It was hard enough to maintain funding levels to protect the company’s business practices and information. And as we saw in the aftermath of…